Airbnb will ALSO hold your security deposit for another 48 hrs. After you check out to allow the host to file a claim against it. Many guests don't realize that many hosts advertise their rentals direct or through other rental agencies that may have different payment policies. I rented my properties out myself long before I became a (NOW FORMER) host w/ airbnb. See my review and horror story on airbnb!

-Cheri Woods
facebook.com/Cheri Woods Rentals

Yes, Airbnb definitely DOES hold your money from the point of booking until 24 hours after the start of your stay. This happens no matter how far in advance you book. Do have a read of the other Q&As on Sitejabber, maybe also see Trustpilot and the forums on TripAdvisor, and you'll find a lot of tips as to how to have the best chance of a good Airbnb experience as well as finding out the potential pitfalls of Airbnb, of which there are plenty. Anyone who uses the Airbnb site needs to exercise appropriate caution, do plenty of research and not get too carried away with the 'concept' of the 'sharing economy'. Airbnb is really just an advertising platform at the end of the day - a good experience all boils down to individual hosts, Airbnb as a company has very little responsibility for ensuring a satisfactory stay. But they WILL hold your money from booking until 24 hours after the start of your stay. Cancellations and refunds are another potential bugbear, so again, I'd recommend you do lots of online research before you book, and learn from other travellers' experiences, good and bad, before you make your choice. I personally had a less than thrilling experience with Airbnb (I didn't actually even book, I had issues with inaccurate property info, unresponsive hosts and a bonafide fraudulent listing) but to be fair, my daughter used them to book a place in Barcelona very recently and had a great time with a fabulous host - helped, I like to think, by her mother's advice to research thoroughly beforehand!